Skies open up today, Jharkhand be rain-ready

Bring out your brightest brolly, dust íní ready those pair of Wellies and make sure that the neighbourhood drain isnít choking on plastic. For, weathermen have warned of heavy and widespread rainfall to make Monday a tad more miserable for school- and office-goers in Jharkhand.

According to both Patna Meteorological Centre and the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore, Calcutta, several parts of the state ó the Santhal Pargana region in particular ó are expected to experience torrential downpour owing to a low-pressure trough over the Bay of Bengal.

ďThe low-pressure area, which is hovering over the north Bay and its adjoining areas, will intensify in the next 24 hours. Under its influence, several parts of Jharkhand are likely to experience heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours,Ē said A.K. Sen, the director of the Patna weather office.

The senior Met official added that precipitation would be uniform because another associated cyclonic circulation, extending up to the mid-troposphere level, would also help in rainfall activity in the state.

Weathermen in Calcutta predicted heavy and widespread showers over Jharkhand in the next two days. ďThe low-pressure trough is expected to weaken only after the next 48 hours,Ē said a duty officer, adding that several districts were expected to experience between 50mm and 70mm rainfall.

Dark clouds hovered over Jamshedpur and its adjoining areas on Sunday owing to a change in the wind pattern triggered by the atmospheric circulation over the Bay of Bengal. Dense clouds also formed in Ranchi and several other districts while intermittent rain was reported from some places.

ďThe low pressure will further activate the monsoon trough, which is stretched between Jammu and Kashmir and east central Bay, passing through Bareilly, Varanasi, Gaya and Santiniketan,Ē explained a senior climate analyst in Patna.

Met data shows that the state has received 465.5mm of rainfall so far against an average normal of 536.7mm, a deficit of 13 per cent. The loss figure hasnít changed since July 31.

Deoghar tops the rain-o-meter with 618.3mm against a normal of 465.7mm, a surplus of 33 per cent. West Singhbhum too has notched a 33 per cent surplus with an actual rain of 695mm against a normal of 525mm. The other surplus districts include Koderma (21 per cent), Pakur (17 per cent), East Singhbhum (6 per cent), Bokaro (4 per cent) and Sahebgunj (2 per cent).

Garhwa with a meagre 173.5mm rain against a normal of 409mm tops the list of deprived districts. The deficit is 58 per cent. Simdega follows close with 48 per cent. It has received 364mm against a normal of 697.5mm.

Weathermen are optimistic that low pressure will result in a good rain spell that will help reduce the deficit in parched districts.